Shinto Kazan
by kurohashi no sanji
Summary: Shinto Kazan got accepted as a soul reaper and is sent to squad 13. Durring an unofficial mission, he learns about the power of his zanpakuto, and how special it is. What will happen to him, as he is mixed with the plan of captain Sôsuke Aizen?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer : I don't own a thing about the Bleach univers. The OC is mine, though…**

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><p><strong>Before I start the story, I'd like to specify some things. First, the Ichigo thing never happened and will never be mentioned. Aizen, Gin and Tousen are still captains. Second, in this fanfic, Rukia is lieutenant of squad 13.<strong>

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><p><strong>Accepted<strong>

I can't believe it. He said accepted. I passed. I am a shinigami now. So many years passed training, so many people told me I wouldn't make it, so many times I almost quit, and I'm finally rewarded!

My name is Shinto Kazan. I stopped counting my age a long time ago, but I look like a human of around 20 years old; I'm barely 5'8'' tall; I have red hair, green eyes, and today, I from today onward, I am a soul reaper. I'm an orphan. My parents were eaten by a hollow when I was about 5. I became a soul reaper to avenge their death.

I just recently found my zanpakuto. Once I got it, my teacher asked me its name, and if I was getting along with him already. When I told him I didn't talk to him yet, he seemed surprised and told me that we were supposed to get in contact as soon as we touched for the first time. I don't care though. I'm sure at some point we will meet and become great partners.

"Shinto Kazan, please come to the meeting room where you will be assigned your squad. I repeat, Shinto Kazan…"

That's my turn. I can't wait to know in which squad I'm assigned. I hope its squad 11. After all, I love to fight. It'll probably be a good squad for me.

Entering the room, there are 3 people waiting for me: My sensei, the examiner, who made me do the exam, and a girl I don't know. I greet them and present myself to the girl.

"You don't have to be so formal with me, Shinto. Or can I call you Kazan?"

What? Who is this girl? I met her 10 seconds ago, and she wants to call me by my first name? And she's not even using any suffix either!

"Kazan, this is Rukia Kuchiki, the recently named lieutenant of squad 13. She will be your superior."

Squad 13? That's right, I heard they named a new lieutenant last week, but I didn't have time to check who it was because of the exams.

"Wait, sensei, do you mean I'll be in squad 13? But, I was hoping, maybe, I would go into squad 11."

Rukia talked again: "We decided it was safer to send you with us for now, since you don't know your zanpakuto's name. It may be for a small time only. You could be changed squad at any moments. For example, if you find out your zanpakuto has healing powers, you'll be sent to squad 4."

I'm stunt. Squad 13 means captain Ukitake. Captain Ukitake means always sick, so the lieutenant is almost always in charge, and that means I'll be stuck with _her_ as my superior.

"You are free to go. I will show you your room in our Barracks. Follow me please."

The trip to the barracks was silent. She asked a question, and when she saw I didn't answer, looked at me like she was about to ground me, but stopped as she saw my sad look. She turned back and kept walking. She showed me my room, and gave me a rendezvous outside the barrack in 2 days.

"Rest well until then, you'll need it."

Yeah right. I did rest the next day, but I couldn't stop thinking about changing squad. I'll do all I can to get into squad 11. At the rendezvous, I arrived first, Rukia arriving 2 minutes after me.

"I hope I didn't make you wait too long. Alright, follow me; we're going to train in the forest. And you better hurry if you don't want to fall behind!"

As she ended her sentence, she disappeared and reappeared about 100 meters away. She used flash step! No way she'll outrun me like that! I ran after her, as fast as I could, running for about 30 minutes non-stop until we reached a forest. She stopped in a plain in the middle of it.

"Alright, we're here. Not too tired, I hope." No answers were given. "Anyway, before training, I think we need to talk. First, I'd like to know you better. First, what are your motives, why did you become a soul reaper?"

Great, another one who I have to tell the story. And from the look in her eyes, I don't think I can escape it.

"Well, I just want to avenge my parents' death. When I was a little kid, they took me out of town for a trip, and we were attacked by a hollow. He ate them both and left me there alone. I was found the next day by a shinigami."

She looked at me, a bit sad, and asked:

"I became one for my friends. We were very poor, and lived in the roukan district. Almost all of them died before they were old enough to join the academy. You can say that I became one not only to get a better life, but to avenge their unfair deaths."

Why was she telling me that? Oh, wait; I see what she's doing. She wants me to feel close to her, so we can have a good relationship. Well good luck. I won't stay in the squad for too long.

"I want to know one more thing: Is it true you didn't meet your zanpakuto yet?"

"Not yet. But I'm sure I'll meet him someday. Why?"

"I was just curious. And don't worry, it will happen. The only Shinigami I know who can't talk with his zanpakuto is Zaraki Kenpachi. But I think you already know that."

Yeah, of course I knew. Didn't she hear me when I said I wanted to be in squad 11?

"Alright, then one last thing, and it will start the training. The academy said you weren't skilled enough to get a seat, but I want to see what you can do by myself. Draw your sword and get in your stance!"

Finally something interesting! I get to fight someone! And it's _her_ too! I feel like I'm going to enjoy this.

I guess this is a good time to tell you about my fighting style. My sheath is held in my lower back, so I can draw it in reverse style. Sometimes, I take the sheath in my other hand too, when I need it. The last special thing about my style is a chain I have on my left arm and hand, so I can block unreleased zanpakuto with it and strike with my other hand.

I drew my sword, holding it in my back, my left hand in front of me, ready to block. She drew hers too, holding it in a regular kendo style, before dashing on me. I blocked with my sword, but I can't tell you how surprised I was when I felt the strength of the strike. I never thought she was this strong, even if she's the lieutenant.

We clashed sword for a while, until she tried to surprise me, using flash step to get behind me. Luckily enough, I had my left hand behind me after a wide slash, so a small turn was enough to block the sword with the chains. She barely touched them before jumping back.

"Don't do that. This chain won't help you very much against shinigami. I barely touched it, and look at it."

I didn't understand what she meant so I looked. What the hell happened? She only touched it with the tip of her sword, yet there was a deep scratch on it. If she slashed a little further, she would have cut my hand off!

"Alright, I guess that is enough for today. Come to the entrance of the barracks tomorrow, I'll have a surprise for you. Now come on, we're heading back."

I wonder what she means by surprise. Well, I guess I'll see tomorrow. As soon as I got to the barracks, she left me to head in the seireitei, and I headed to my room. Lying on my bed, I could only think about the way she was fighting, and the talk we had before the fight. Maybe she's not such a bad person after all. I wonder what's gonna happen tomorrow, about her surprise. Being with squad 13 for a while might not be so bad after all!

The next day, I met her at the same spot and asked right away.

"So, lieutenant, what's that surprise you mentioned yesterday about?"

"I told you, drop the formality! Call me Rukia, like everyone else. And for the surprise, we're going to the world of the living!"

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><p><strong>End of chapter 1: Accepted<strong>

**Next chapter: The mysterious man**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer : I own nothing.

Chapter 2: The mysterious man

The world of the living? That's what she said, right? But how? New recruits aren't allowed to go to the world of the living in the beginning of their work. Plus, I'm still in training!

"Really? I thought I wasn't aloud there yet. Is something going on?"

"I told you, it's a surprise, she answered. I explained captain Ukitake my intentions and allowed an exception of the rule. But keep in mind this won't happen again. If you want to go back there, you'll have to make your proofs."

We then made our way to the senkaimon. She asked me if I was ready and, as soon as I gave my answer (an obvious "yes"), she went ahead of me and I ran to follow her.

We soon found ourselves in the world of the living. She guided me to a small shop. As I read the sing, I saw it was a candy shop. I asked:

"Lieu-… I mean, Rukia, I think you made a mistake. This is a candy shop. You didn't plan to take me here just so I could get candies, right? Please tell me it's the wrong place!"

"Come on, do you really think I would bring you to a candy shop?" To be honest, I wasn't sure since from the small time I spent with her, she could be very serious and tell a joke 2 seconds after. "This is just a coverture. This is the shop where I get my supplies. I think some other soul reapers come here from time to time, but I only know one personally. Anyway, let's go inside."

I followed her as she made her way to the entrance. She started to slide the door, but stopped for a second. She then jumped away, and before I could react, a red haired kid kicked the door open and swung a baseball bat in my face, sending me flying a couple of meters further. I quickly got back to my feet and charged at the kid, but Rukia stopped me in my tracks.

"Jinta, what's the meaning of this?" The kid then apologized. "I'm sorry miss Kuchiki. A weird girl came here earlier and mocked me. I think her name was Karin. She had a bit of spirit energy, and when I sensed this guy, I thought it was her, so I-" but he couldn't finish his sentence as Rukia punched him. "I don't care who you thought he was, you'd better apologize to Kazan here, and by the way, it's not nice to hit a lady with a baseball bad, got it!?" She really has a short temper, doesn't she?

The kid the apologized to me, but again got interrupted in the middle by an extremely tall mustached man barged out of the store screaming: "JINTA! You did it again! I told you to stop pulling pranks on customers!"

He then grabbed the brat and pulled him back inside the shop, just after apologizing to Rukia…. What about me? I asked her: "are they part of your «surprise»?"

"Partly, she answered. They work here, but it's not them we came to see. The one we want is the owner of the place. Oh, and by the way, no one should attack you in there, so no need to be careful, ok?" She then entered, leaving me there. I followed her, getting a bit more curious about this surprise, and wondering who owned this place and would have these two guys working for him.

Inside wasn't anything great. It was a candy shop. I looked around, and that was the only thing around. Tables with candies on them. In the back of the store, Rukia was talking to a man, who I guessed was either the owner, or someone who could get him. Joining them, I learned it was the first choice.

"Kazan, this is Kisuke Urahara. He owns the shop, and he is the one with your surprise."

"Wait, Rukia, I didn't say yes yet. I would have liked to keep all of them, and you ask him to give him one. Why should I do that?" She gave her a mean look and declared: "Remember when I helped you with your little «animal problem»? You told me that if I kept it a secret, you'd owe me a favor." The face on Urahara wasn't something I expected. It showed guilt, fear and embarrassment as he went in the back store saying: "I'll go get one; Ururu will make some tea, so wait in the room in the back".

We made our way there, as a new question was stuck in my mind. What was Urahara's «animal problem»? A little girl brought us tea, and apologized to me correctly for what Jinta did. Finally someone who shows a little bit of respect for me today! Soon after, Urahara came back with a little box. He gave it to me saying "I hope you put it to good use." I could see he didn't want to let it go, but still did when Rukia coughed. I opened it to find a chain like the one I used before Rukia sliced it the day before.

"It's a chain made of Sekiseki. Rukia told me about your fighting style and asked me to give you one to replace your other since it would be useless against hollows. Although I only have 4 and don't want to let it go…." He mumbled the end, but I didn't care. I thanked them both very much and promised to take care of it and use it well. Urahara then asked if I wanted to try it out, but before I could accept, a strong spiritual pressure was felt outside the store. A hollow's spiritual pressure.

Rukia and I both ran out to find two hollow. A big one, looking very menacing, and a small one, less menacing, looking like a clown a bit, but instead of juggling with balls, he had knives on his arms. They were about to eat a poor spirit when they saw us. "I take the big one; you take care of the small. This isn't a practice, it's a real fight, understand. Your life is at stake here, so don't play around. Fight to kill." I nodded and we split up.

On her side, Rukia had it easy. Her experience made her get the upper hand very fast, but she struggled a bit since the hollow was moving very fast, not letting her hit it. After a while though, she sliced him in two and went to see how I handled my fight.

Things weren't so great over here. I couldn't land a blow no matter how much I tried. His arms were blocking every hit, and he countered all the time. The good news was that the chain was working as it was protecting me and stopping the attacks. The bad news was that I took too many hits. I was clearly loosing. Soon he had me cornered. I couldn't do anything. I took a defending pose, knowing my end was near, as he dashed at me, one hand targeting my head; the other, my gut. The last thing I saw was Rukia arriving in the back, looking powerless as she was too far to help me. I closed my eyes, but didn't feel any pain.

I opened them, and found myself in a completely different area. It was the inside of a volcano, as I was in a hole and lava was under my feet…. Wait. I was walking on lava and didn't get burned? What was going on? Where was this place? Then, out of nowhere, a wave of lava streamed up in front of me, and a face could be seen inside it.

Next chapter: My Zanpakuto


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer : I own nothing about Bleach

My Zanpakuto

What was that face? There's no way someone could be in the lava. Could it be a projection? Some sort of kido? Then, all of a sudden, the face talked.

"Well, looks like you got yourself in a dangerous situation, Shinto Kazan!" It knew my name. Just who is that face. Wait….. It couldn't be…

"Are you…. My zanpakuto?" It laughed. I didn't know if it meant I was right or wrong. "Of course I am! What, did you think every volcano in the world had a handsome face like mine?"

Handsome face, he was going a little far. He didn't even have a head. All I could see was a mouth and 2 eyes. I asked him why he only appeared to me now. "Because I wanted to see how you would do by yourself for a while, and I must say, you weren't doing half bad. Until you almost got yourself killed, that is!" And he laughed again. Why? Such a rude guy is my zanpakuto… He seems reckless, like he'd do anything to annoy anyone. On the other hand, he does look strong. Maybe he could help me survive this fight.

"What's your name?" I asked him. He laughed, "And why should I tell you that? I might be your zanpakuto, but It doesn't mean I want to help you. Give me one good reason, and maybe I'll tell you my name."

"You really are annoying, you know that? I didn't know I could be like that! Listen punk, as my zanpakuto, you are a part of me. This means that if I die, you go down with me. I'm sure you didn't just pop up in my soul for no reason just before I die. If you want to test me, fine, go ahead, I'll take any challenge on. I'll succeed and I'll make you spit your name so that I can survive this and keep on living! Got that?!"

I still don't know where this outburst came from. I guess I can make my point if I have too. And he just really got on my nerves, laughing at me, and then saying he won't help me.

He laughed again, "That's what I'm talking about. I don't need to test you. I would only work with you if you showed me you could stand you own instead of just following orders without complains. A little outburst like this is just what I wanted to see. So, I'll tell you. My name is-"

Outside, the hollow was diving to stab me. In the distance, Rukia was coming to my location as fast as she could after her fight, but she never would be able to make it in time. All of a sudden though, I changed my stance. His hands were like knifes, diving towards me. I raised my zanpakuto to block one and used my chain-covered hand to block the other. The hollow looked surprise. Even I didn't think I could move this fast. Had I been only a tad bit slower, I would be dead. But I'll always remember the look he gave me when he looked in my eyes. I heard him as he told me I looked like a different person, and more determined.

In response, I uttered: "Now burn, Kaen!"

As soon as I declared those words, my flame rusted in flames, only to disappear a second later, leaving my blade completely red. The hollow then screamed and backed off. "HOT! What is this! How can a sword can be this hot without melting?!" I didn't leave him time to say another word as I swing my sword to his face. He blocked me, but to everyone's surprise, his hands were the only thing melting. The blade was so hot only touching it was enough to melt through almost anything. As he backed away in pain, I tried to test this power again on his head. I hit it with the back of my sword, and as expected, by pressing a little, the blade easily sank into his head, as the hollow soon disappeared, dead.

At that moment, Rukia caught up to me. "Well, it looks like you finally found your shikai, Kazan." She then punched me and told me to be more careful next time. My first fight and I almost died. She is right, but I still can wait until my next one. We made our way back to Urahara, only to find him waiting for us. "I knew you'd get'em Rukia. And you, how did you do?" We told him how everything went. The look on his face made me worry.

"Are you trying to tell me that you had a little discussion with your zanpakuto in less than a second in the real world?" I nodded. "That's impossible. Even if time passes more quickly inside your soul, there's no way you could have a 5 minutes conversation in 1 second. If what you say is true, then you are probably the shinigami with the greatest link to your zanpakuto."

We stayed for a little while longer to talk and drink some tea because, apparently, Rukia and Urahara are good friends. We then said goodbye and went back to the soul society.

I returned to the squad 13's barracks to write my report. It's not an official one, but Rukia said I should practice to write a real one in the future. And what a pain in the ass it is! I have 15 pages, and she said it wasn't complete enough! I spent the whole night writing it. Good thing the next day was a day off. I'd be able to catch up the sleep I missed in the past days. At least that's what I thought. I went to sleep at around 4:00 AM, after adding 10 more pages to the report. 2 hours later, when the sun started to rise in the sky, I was awakening by 3rd seat Kotetsu. She told me the captain were having a meeting and were asking me to join them because they had some questions for me.

I got up and got dressed, and followed the 3rd seat to the captain's meeting. On the way, I asked her why it was her instead of Rukia that woke me up. She simply told me she was at a reunion with the other lieutenants, waiting for the captain to finish theirs. We soon reached our destination, where we both entered. Kotetsu told them that she brought me, and made me enter as she left. I never was more intimidated than this. The 13 Captains were staring at me like I had killed someone. Granted, I killed a hollow the previous day, on a non-official mission, but is that a reason to summon me?

"Welcome, young man." The Head captain told me. "I can see worry on your face, but worry not. We are not here to scold you or anything like that. We heard yesterday from lieutenant Kuchiki of squad 13 that you found your shikai and met your zanpakuto yesterday. Normally, we wouldn't summon someone about it, but one thing was weird in what she told us. Do you know what I'm talking about?"

"Is it because I passed what appeared to be around 5 minutes inside my soul, while outside, it passed in less than a second?" I asked them. Was it really that special? I mean, I didn't think it could be a problem. On the contrary, I thought it could only help. "That is correct." The head captain continued. "It is very unusual, because usually, the time spent inside yourself passes only slightly slower than in reality. For someone to change the flow of time this much, he would need to be in perfect symbiosis with his zanpakuto, which has never been seen before. Could you please show us if what you and lieutenant Kuchiki said is true by staying around 5 minutes inside you?"

I accepted and got in a meditating pose, my sword on my lap, and looked inside my soul, finding myself again inside the volcano. The face of Kaen was still watching me as he asked: "What's up? Missing me already?" I explained the situation to him. "I've got no clue why time passes by that. Who knows, maybe I have some hidden power or something!" He then busted in laughter again. I waited a bit more before leaving.

Opening my eyes, I told the captains I passed around 5 minutes in my inner world. The looks were different on each captain. Some of them looked stunned, like Soi Fon and Ukitake; others were looking amazed, like Gin and Kurotsuchi. But the weirdest was the look on captain Aizen's face. He smiled at me. No fear, surprise, amazement or anything. He looked like he knew about this already. As I expected it, the head captain asked me if I played around, because I had barely enough time to close my eyes before I opened them.

The room stayed silent when I told them I did, and that Kaen didn't know why it was like this either, but joked about the fact that he could have a hidden power or something. After a few moments, the head captain declared: "Since this is a first in the history of the shinigami, you will have to submit a report to captain Kurotsuchi if anything happen about your situation. Also, you will need to fill another report every month to indicate that everything is going fine. That is all. You may now go and enjoy your day of rest, Shinto Kazan." I bowed and left, going to get some shot eye. Tomorrow, during training, I'll ask Rukia if I could try to get the hang of my Kaen.

Next Chapter: The other one


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The Other One…

It has been about a month since I awakened Kaen. In a month, I discovered the real power of my zanpakuto. At the time, I never could have guessed how incredible this power was going to be, or how I would affect everyone around me. If I remember correctly, it all really started that day. The day of my first official mission. I was so excited to finally go to the world of the living without Rukia. Of course, I wasn't going there alone. Captain Ukitake decided to partner me up with the 10th seat. Aburame Makoto, I believe his name was. Our objective was simple. The shinigami in charge of the capital of Belgium, Brussels, had been having trouble with surprising numbers of hollows roaming around, and stronger ones appearing over time.

Once we were ready, we headed through the Senkaimon and reached our destination. Before meeting with the reaper in charge of the place, we decided to explore and see if we could find the problem by ourselves. Apparently, it already happened that the core of the problem was right before the eyes of everyone, but only someone with a view of the whole thing could see. Although we didn't find the problem, I could feel something was wrong. There was just something wrong with the aura of this place.

We then met up with the reaper. Bastian Voher. I regret not being able to remember most names, especially about him, because if he hadn't been there, I would be dead today. But we'll get there soon enough. He immediately told us about what was going on. Apparently, the hollows were drawn to a little place in town called "the lion hill". For those of you who don't know about it, it's a small hill with 2 lion statues on top. Why they were going there was unknown, but it didn't matter for now. Our objective was simply to help him fight most of the hollows so he could focus on things like that.

We started making our way to the hill, and the closer we got to it, the stronger this dark aura was getting. But the weird things started here. I asked Bastian about it, and told me he wasn't feeling anything, and neither was Makoto. They told me I was probably just stressing about my first mission. I didn't believe them. We soon got there, and wouldn't you know it, 3 hollows were approaching the statues. We each took one in surprise and killed them in a few seconds. We sheathed our swords, but Bastian felt something wasn't quite right this time. That's when the trouble started. A few dozens of hollows popped out of nowhere and attacked us. The fight resumed, a little too easy, I believed. It should have stayed that way.

Most of them had been killed when it showed up. Its spiritual pressure was incredible, around Rukia's level. Realising I never succeeded a hit rukia during training, I was happy 2 stronger shinigami were with me. At least for a few seconds. Makoto shouted the release of his zanpakuto, but was stopped in the middle by the Hollow's arm going through his head. I watched in horror as he fell to the ground, dead.

I couldn't believe it. I never saw anything move that fast in my life. But I couldn't just stand there and do nothing. I released my zanpakuto and got ready for the fight. The weaker hollows were pushovers. One swing of my sword was enough to slice them in half. The big one was another story. He actually blocked my attacks, learning quickly however not to touch my burning blade for too long. What me and Bastian did not expect, however, was that he was just playing with us.

Before I knew what hit me, he countered my blows, sending me flying. He ran towards me, throwing me further and further every time he hit me. I couldn't do anything like that. If I had one second, I could fight back, but he was too fast. After a while, I finally hit a wall. He was tired of playing. He wanted to kill me now. He lifted his hand in the air, ready to stab me like he did with Makoto. That's when Bastian did something I will never forget. He got in front of the hollow as it was about to throw me and pushed me out of the way, taking the hit for me.

I didn't realise he was dead right away. I was just glad I wasn't pushed around anymore, and only had one idea in mind: revenge. Kaen became a normal sword, and I held my sword in front of me, reversed style, and yelled: ''Make him drown, Tsunami!''

2 weeks earlier, during training.

We were in the usual training field. All day I felt a little weird, but I couldn't really explain it. I pushed the feeling aside, as it wouldn't stop me from training. We clashed blows for a few moments before Rukia stopped me.

''Is something wrong? You're not fighting like usual.'' I explained the problem, not knowing what was going on exactly. She again told me to do something I should have done right away: talk with Kaen. I got in a meditation pose, told her I'd be literally back in a sec, and entered the realm of my zanpakuto.

When I got there, something was weird, and not just a little. I wasn't in a volcano anymore. I was under the sea. There had to be something wrong with me, it was certain now. I screamed, calling Kaen, but he didn't answer. Instead, another face appeared before me. A face similar to his, almost like a mask. However, this one looked a lot gentler than him, more serene. Asking who he was, what was going on and where was Kaen, he explained something I never thought was possible.

''I am another side of Kaen the reckless. My name is tsunami the serene. I know he didn't tell you everything, as he thought you should find it out by yourself, but it would be better for all of us if you knew everything. Your zanpakuto is a one of a kind. It doesn't only have one shikai. If I were to guess, I'd say you have over 10 different abilities, each controlling a different element. I however can't tell you how this is possible. I only know that the more you make one with us, the more you will be able to use.''

I didn't believe it at first. A zanpakuto with more than one shikai? That's impossible. Bu as I got out, of the inside realm, I had to test it. I didn't even answer Rukia when she asked me if I was ok. I just instinctually held my sword in front of me, turned it upside down in my hand, and whispered the words: ''Make them drown, Tsunami'' I wasn't surprised when I saw the handle become golden, the blade shrinking, to the side of a knife, as a whip of water exited from the other end. Tsunami told me the truth.

She understood right away that something wasn't normal, since no one ever had a zanpakuto with more than one shikai, and took me to captain Ukitake. He didn't see me though, and instead called for another captain meeting. When he came back, he explained that my case was special, and that he wasn't allowed to tell me more. I only knew I was going to be watched, and if I discovered new releases, I had to warn either him or Rukia as soon as possible. He dismissed me, as I went back home, not sure if I was happy about what was going on.

My blade turned into a whip, as I got ready for the deadly hollow's assault. I watched him carefully, and as soon as he moved a hair, I jumped aside, dodging a punch at the last second. I used this time to throw a wave in his direction, the whip hitting his shoulder. As soon as it made contact, the victory was mine, as it tangled around his arm. I pulled it my way, surprising him, and I dashed in his way, giving him a taste of his own medicine, as the knife on the other side of my weapon cut through the said arm.

He stumbled back in pain, but I didn't stop. At any moment, he could reveal a new trick, or dash and kill me if I didn't pay enough attention. I swirled the water his way again, with even more control than I had during training, maybe because of my fear or adrenalin, but he still avoided it. It didn't matter though, as I swung the handle down, the whip moving the same way, hitting his head, tying it up. From there, I simply had to dash his way, to stab him straight between the eyes. The fight finally over, I went back to the bodies of my fellow shinigami and brought them back with me to the Seireitei.

There, I brought their bodies to the 4th squad building, apologising for being unable to protect them. I might not sound like it, but their death affected me greatly, especially Bastian. Unlike Makoto, who had already seen me in the barracks, he didn't know me. Yet, when he saw I was about to be killed, he jumped and took my place without thinking, why he did that, I don't know. I was too busy being beat up to see what he was doing, and I didn't know him. I'll never know what crossed his mind at that moment.

I submitted my report, and went to my room to think about what happened. On my way there, I heard Captain Ukitake talking with Captain Mayuri, who was still going on about how he should do tests on me, but I didn't care anymore. As I reached my room, a familiar face was waiting for me. I still remember the exact words she told me when I asked Rukia what she was doing here.

"I know how hard it is to have someone die for you. You don't want it, but you don't have a choice. I wasn't there, so I can't help you figure out why he did it, but just know that no matter what happens, if you need anything, I'll be there for you." I don't know why those words affected me like that, but I felt better right away. I got in my room to get some shut eye. The day was hard, and I needed some rest, even though I wouldn't get much sleep that night, my mind filled with questions about the mission, the hollow, Bastian, and my zanpakuto.


End file.
